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Topic Review (Newest First)

01-28-2013 01:04 AM

AnotherHobby

I live in Apple Valley and have the same very hard water. Directly from the tap it has a KH of 18-19. The tap has 20 ppm CO2 in it, so it's pH is 7.4 if tested immediately, but if you let the water sit out for a day or so the pH is 8.2, which is what your aquarium will end up being if you take no measures to lower it, or if you don't inject CO2.

Aqua Soil lowers my KH such that on Sunday, right before a water change my KH is at 6. After a 50% change it's up to 12 and then lowers back to six 1 week later. As for pH, with CO2 injection it hovers between 6.8 and 7.0. So far this is working well for me.

01-27-2013 08:20 PM

Capsaicin_MFK

I use an RO filter in my house. My tank gets 66/33 mixture of RO/tap and it allowed me to grow more sensitive plants than before with using straight tap.

Cheap alternative im thinking about using this because of my minneapolis hardwater

01-22-2013 06:15 AM

Dx3Bash

RO system for MN water?

We have extremely hard water here in the Southern Twin Cities area (Apple Valley/Eagan). I have read several posts, from people who know significantly more than I do about planted aquariums, that plants/fish adapt to hard tap water just fine and RO isn't necessary. For those living in Minnesota, has anyone moved from tap water to RO and seen improvements to plant health? I also plan to order some Discus this Spring when the weather warms up a bit, so I am leaning towards an RO regardless. Thoughts?